Service wires, such as electric supply lines and communication lines have long been used in aerial applications. Standards, such as the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC), have been adopted to ensure safety to operating personnel and the general public in the application of aerial service wires. For example, these standards subject the placement of aerial service wires to certain minimum clearances above ground in urban and rural areas.
Problems arise, however, where sufficient and safe clearance cannot be obtained by attaching aerial service wires directly to a building or structure. In the past, the problems of insufficient height or clearance for aerial service wires have been addressed in one of three ways. One way involved mounting a bracket on the power mast and attaching the aerial service wire to the bracket. NESC policies, however, have mandated that this option is no longer acceptable due to the possible dangers when using a power mast to attain sufficient height or clearance.
A second way to attain sufficient height or clearance involved attaching a “ramshorn” to a higher peak on the building or structure. In general, a ramshorn is an iron rod having one end inserted in an insulator (e.g., rubber, composition, or metal-clad glass) and the other end shaped like a ram's horn. The aerial service wire is secured to the insulator by threading it through the opposing “horns.” Sometimes this peak is far away from the outside network interface, however, which results in extra work for the technician who must run the aerial service wire from the peak around the eaves to the location of the outside network interface. This solution also requires the use of more materials (e.g., wire, drive rings, clamps). For aesthetic reasons, this solution caused customer dissatisfaction because wires from the house were not uniform due to the power drop being attached at one place on the house and telephone and television cable being attached at another.
A third way to attain sufficient height involved setting a new telephone pole between the house and the serving terminal. This engineering job was and is very costly to the responsible company or customer.
Accordingly, there exits the need for equipment and methods to provide sufficient and safe clearance for aerial service wires while avoiding possible dangers and/or expenses.